There are various reasons why different groups of people have difficulty swallowing pills, including capsules, tablets, and the like. Some individuals, like very young children and the elderly suffering from dementia or other conditions affecting their cognitive abilities are one group. Other groups are individuals who have difficulty swallowing due to conditions such as Parkinson's disease and other conditions which interfere with their ability to swallow. There are also people who suffer from fear of choking or gagging which in sensitive people is often initiated when they place a dry pill, tablet, or capsule in their mouth. In addition to the foregoing categories, there are many people who have no specific impediments but find that swallowing pills an unpleasant experience due to with the taste of the pill to be swallowed or difficulty in swallowing because of size or because the pill tends to stick in the mouth.
The process of developing this product included testing many different types of pills and capsules. It was found that as soon as any liquid comes into contact with a wide variety of pills and capsules, the pills and capsules immediately stuck to the dispensing devise. This sticking occurred with both hard water and soft water and was more extreme and was more difficult to dislodge when using hard water. Often times the flow of water through the dispensing device was insufficient to dislodge the pill or capsule, thus preventing the device from assisting in swallowing the pill or capsule. Pills and capsules presently in use range in size from the smallest, which is approximately a quarter of an inch in diameter and as thin as fifty-thousands of an inch, to tablets and capsules as large as one and one-eighth inches long and this invention is designed to accommodate all of these sizes.